Connecticut | Beverage Container Deposit & Redemption Law

The state of Connecticut introduced a bottle bill in April of 1978 with their Beverage Container Deposit & Redemption Law.

In June of 2021, Governor Lamont signed SB 1037 into state law, expanding the scope of containers collected and also increasing the refund value from five cents USD to ten cents USD to boost consumer participation and keep up with inflation.

According to Waste Dive, SB 1037 is the "most significant" update to Connecticut's bottle bill since its implementation in 1978—see the "Impact of DRS in Connecticut" section below to see the impact of SB 1037 and how it can serve as a model for future bottle bill updates across the country.

What's Included?

An updated list of covered beverages from August of 2022 lays out the beverages and containers covered and what is exempt from the bill, including:

Beverages Covered: beer and malt beverages, soda, carbonated mineral water, malt-based hard seltzer and cider, water, sports drinks, energy drinks, juice, juice drinks, tea and coffee, kombucha, and plant-infused drinks.

Containers Covered: individual glass, metal or plastic bottles, cans, jars, and cartons, etc.

Exemptions:

• Hard cider products—effective July 1, 2025

• Containers smaller than 150 ml

• Carbonated drinks in containers larger than 3 L

• Non-carbonated beverages in containers that are larger than 2.5 L

• Wine and spirits and cocktails (wine and spirits based)

• Milk and dairy products

• Plant-based milks

• Mixers

• Medical electrolyte drinks (e.g., pedialyte)

• Meal replacement drinks and protein shakes

• THC-infused beverages

• Beverages in paper cartons and pouches

What's the Refund Value?

As mentioned above, SB 1037 (effective January 2024) increased the refund value from five cents USD to ten cents USD for all covered products—an effort to increase engagement among consumers and other stakeholders.

Impact of DRS in Connecticut

Like New York and Iowa, Connecticut has average recycling rates when compared to other states with DRS, but they are above the national average:

Connecticut's PET recycling rate for 2018 of 45% is 25.96% higher than the national average (19.04%).

Connecticut's aluminum recycling rate for 2018 of 47% is 15.72% higher than the national average (31.28%).

Connecticut’s glass recycling rate for 2018 of 45% is 19.14% higher than the national average (25.86%).

[data from 50 States of Recycling 2.0 by Ball Corporation & Eunomia]

A key impact of SB 1037 implementation (effective January 2024) includes beverage container redemption rates rising from 44% in 2023 to 65% in 2024 (a jump of 21% YoY).

When compared to other states in the same period, many had redemption rates fall 1–3% in the same period, with only New York's rate rising 1% and California and Oregon's rates staying static. (Waste Dive + Container Recycling Institute)

Connecticut's Department of Energy & Environmental Protection highlights that in Q1 2025, the program was responsible for redeeming 360,931,000+ containers with a quarterly redemption rate of 84.7%—up from 51.9% in Q1 2024.

Using the same Tomra data we used for other states, Connecticut's DRS redemption rate in 2024 was 65%—the sixth highest rate when compared to other states with DRS in 2023 / 2024.

Stay up to date with Connecticut’s Beverage Container Deposit & Redemption Law here. 

Read about the bottle bills in the nine other US states here.